Herbal antibiotics

In article <[email hidden]>,

Toby Joe said:

From: "David Wright" <[email hidden]> Sent:
Sunday, March 21, 2004 7:46 AM

Quoted message said:

<[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> For example garlic, certain honeys, olive leaf
>> extract, lemon (I think), and some others - herbs
>> such as oregano iirc.
>
> If bacteria can become resistant to prescription
> antibiotics (and they can), they can just as easily
> become resistant to "natural" antibiotics

Why do you assume that? What do you base it on?

Evolutionary necessity. The survivors survive and
continue to reproduce in larger numbers. Shucks, that
stuff they put in "anti-bacterial" soaps? They used to
think that bacteria couldn't become resistant to it.
Turns out they can, and have.

There's nothing magic about "natural" substances. You put
stress on a species, and it either adapts or dies out.
There are algae that live in the hot springs in
Yellowstone Park. There are bacteria that do just fine
under a radioactive bombardment that would kill many
other varieties almost instantly.

Herbal antibiotics and honey etc have been around for a
very long time, though (wasn't the Promised Land to be
"flowing with milk and honey", a few thousand years ago?)
So, if there was going to be a mutation/resistance,
wouldn't it likely have already happened?

No. Because bacteria only start evolving resistance when
they are exposed to the antibiotic. Penicillin still
works against some bacteria, despite the number of
resistant strains.

Remember, evolving resistance has a cost -- and if the
stimulus goes away, the resistance is likely to follow. If
we got rid of several common antibiotics for a couple of
decades, they'd start working much better again.

Quoted message said:

And, if it works, it works. I don't see much value in not
using something because "one day it may not work"...?

I'm not saying "don't use it." I'm saying "don't use it with
the expectation that it will work forever."

Quoted message said:

There is a section called, "Natural Interferon Boosters",
and includes chlorophyll itself, as well as Echinacea and
couple of others. Ime, echinacea is a fast-working and
effective antibiotic for sore throats, toothache, or minor
bouts of the flu'. The site doesn't mention ginger, which
surprises me, as my family use it often, to stave off colds
or to lessen the symptoms.

However, although echinacea may work well for you, it has
not fared so well in clinical trials. So apparently it's not
for everyone.

-- David Wright :: alphabeta at prodigy.net These are my
opinions only, but they're almost always correct. "If I
have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were
standing on my shoulders." (Hal Abelson, MIT)